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My heart raced faster than the wind.
With a downward strike of the fae’s hand, a chariot encompassed in light appeared beneath our feet. My fingers curled around a golden crossbar, and solid gold surrounded us. The yoke wasn’t attached to any animal, but rather a sliver of sparkling wind that twisted through the air with a jittery energy.
Without prompting, the chariot rose into the sky.
I braced myself for the change in motion but remained as steady as if planted on the ground. The treetops fell away, and when I looked down, the entire brown island sat below.
My stomach lurched. Gaia’s hand touched mine.
“You’ll get used to it,” she promised. Then she pulled her hand back and swept that blank expression on once more.
The sky stretched out in a sheet of turquoise and white.
“Welcome to our realm,” the dark fae said as we reached the clouds. My brow furrowed. There was nothing here.
At that exact moment, the world exploded. My land peeled away, and the sun extinguished. All that remained was darkness and inexplicable beauty.
My world had been one of heat, sand, and sunshine. Even if it hadn’t been, no land could have prepared me for the fae realm. All I could think was how the stories didn’t come close. I had no control over my awed expression or the sudden lump in the back of my throat.
It was the most glorious night there ever was.
No moon hung in the sky, but white stars clung to black that blanketed as far as I could see. They had islands here, too, but these didn’t sit on the ground as one might think they should. Instead, floating masses of land spread throughout the sky, packed with vibrant buildings and lush growth. I’d never seen so much color in one place.
A shimmer caught my eye. “The river of gold,” I breathed. It ran off the edge of one island, gushing into the darkness below. I leaned over the side of the chariot. The gold water ought to fall onto our land, but our land was nowhere to be seen. I’d spent hours staring at the sky and never expected to witness such splendor just beyond our clouds.
Chariots much like ours soared through the skies as if the stars themselves were roads. Hundreds of these chariots lit the distance between the lands.
“Does a different Mortal Queen rule each island?” I asked Gaia. What I could see of her cheeks paled.
“Do you hear the cheers, my Queen?” The dark fae pointed over the crossbar to the island we headed for—one as large as the home I left behind and bursting with narrow, pointed buildings constructed from marble and lit with lanterns. It was a beacon of light against the night. The buildings opened in the middle, where a castle encompassed a grand courtyard with trees thicker than any fig tree and swollen with fruit. Before our chariot soared near, the chants reached our ears. “They cheer for you.”
Their voices were melodic, and intertwined with each other like a song. I caught only one word repeated over and over among the others. Queens.
The air around the island was coated in chariots, all facing the courtyard. All waiting for us.
The wisp of wind guiding us floated in circles around the chariots from afar, teasing them before drawing near. We descended as the roar grew louder. A stone circle paved the center of the courtyard with an image of a crown identical in design to the one on my head painted inside, while the fae kept to the grass, leaving the stone open for us to land upon.
Before we did, the three fae ambassadors positioned themselves in a tight circle around me. They blocked my sight, but I suspected the intention was to block me from the other fae’s sight.
The sparkling wisp directed us down, and the chariot met the stone.
Through the slit between the silver fae and the quiet one, I watched Gaia straighten and raise a hand to the crowd. They cheered for their queen. She stepped off the chariot and stood on the stone.
The silent fae lifted his voice for the first time. “Are you ready to meet your next Mortal Queen?”
Cheers thundered.
“I present to you, High Queen Althea Brenheda.”
They split in unison like a veil, thrusting me into full sight of the world.
I straightened my neck until the skin was taut, hoping I looked regal and not wolf-like, as Cal had teased. The gold beneath my feet gave way to the stone pavement, and a crisp wind caressed my arms. The fae before me came in many sizes and were bedecked in all colors, but one thing remained true for each—they were as stunning as the ambassadors. Smooth skin, striking eyes behind half masks, and smiles as lethal as they were charming. Even if my dark hair grew as lush as Gaia’s had, or my lashes thicker over my caramel eyes, I’d only be an ounce as magnificent as them. They looked stunning for being hundreds of years old.
The fae lifted goblets of deep red wine in approval. Without any cues, I stepped next to Gaia.
Across the courtyard near the castle sat a dais with six figures atop it, so still I thought they were statues at first instead of six men, each with broad shoulders and narrow bands circling their foreheads. They wore gold masks and sat on elaborate thrones.
“Who are they?” I whispered to Gaia.
